The spot of red was what first caught Randy Heiss's attention on December 16, 2018. He walked toward it and found a balloon attached to a piece of paper. "Dayami," it read on one side, in a child's writing. Heiss flipped the paper over. It was a numbered list in Spanish. His Spanish isn't very good, but he could see it was a Christmas list.
He was charmed and wondered whether he could find the child. About 20 miles to the southwest, just across the border, was the city of Nogales, Mexico. Based on the prevailing wind, he was pretty sure that's where it came from.
Back home, Heiss's wife who is fluent in Spanish translated the list. Dayami, probably a girl, had asked for a doll, a dollhouse, clothes and art supplies.
Heiss then posted about his quest on Facebook, attaching photos, hoping someone might know the girl's family.
A few days passed with no leads; Heiss worried that time was running out before Christmas. On December 19, he decided to send a private Facebook message to Radio XENY based in Nogales. The next morning, Heiss awoke to a message: The staff had located Dayami, who indeed lived in Nogales and would be willing to arrange a get-together at the radio station.
Heiss and his wife rushed to buy everything on Dayami's list. Then they drove for 45 minutes, crossing the border into Nogales. They finally met the very excited girl. "Her eyes were wide open with wonder. Like, 'Oh my gosh, this really did work!' It was a beautiful experience," Heiss said. "Quite healing for us."
Heiss, 61, has lived in Bisbee, Arizona for more than three decades. Ten years ago, he and his wife lost their only child. They have no grandchildren. Now they split their time between Nogales and Bisbee.
"Being around children at Christmastime has been absent in our lives," Heiss said. "It's been kind of a gaping hole in our Christmas experience." He has since reflected on what a miracle it was that he spotted the balloon at all, let alone that he was able to locate Dayami and her family.
